By Margaret Duncan, Ed.D.
The Histocrats
support the idea of incorporating board-games into your personal life as well
as in the classroom. As such, we support
and participate in a local board-gaming group.
Any and all board-game enthusiasts are welcome to join the Game Nights that
are held every first and third Friday night of the month. As part of our gaming group initiative, we
also recommend history centric games that are fun to play each week to all of
our followers. The selected games
receive our “Game of the Week” distinction.
Recommended games are a mix of cooperative, card games, as well Euro
style games.
Salem: A Card Game of Deception, Facade Games
Accuse and defend
your fellow townsfolk as you hunt down the witches of Salem. Act fast, before
conspiracy turns you against your own. Before long, accusations will be flying,
and screams of "She's a WITCH!" will wake the neighbors. Will you be
the hero who purges your town of witches, or will you be wrongly accused and
hung for witchcraft? Or perhaps you will be a witch yourself, escape
conviction, and bring Salem to the ground.
Black Gold, Fantasy Flight Games
The year is 1922, and
there’s wealth to be claimed deep within the soil. Prepare to head West to
survey the Permian Basin in a race to become the wealthiest son of a gun in
Texas! Black Gold is a game of drilling and discovery for 2-5 prospectors, in
which you’ll try to gain more wealth than your fellow competitors by exploring
the terrain for oil wells, surveying the possible sites, and building derricks.
You’ll earn the most money if you can transport your oil to one of three
companies and win the right to sell at auction. Meanwhile, a ruthless Oil Baron
draws ever closer, his train counting down the rounds of the game’s thrilling
ride. Race against your opponents to earn the most wealth before he reaches his
last track. Outbid, out-bluff, and out-strategize your opponents to become the
next tycoon!
Letters to Santa, AEG
If you want all of
your Christmas wishes brought by the big guy, you'll need to make sure your
letter makes it to him. The closer you
get the letter to Santa, the more likely you are to win! But watch out for the wily Krampus, out to
dash your yuletide dreams! Letters to Santa is a Christmas edition of the award
winning Love Letter.
Samurai Sword, Da Vinci
In the land of the
Rising Sun, faithful Samurai protect the Shogun. Now, a lone Ronin is plotting
his revenge. Will you honor the way of the warrior? Put down your Colts and
take up your katanas in Samurai Sword, the latest addition to the Bang! family
of card games!
*All product
descriptions are from the manufacturer
By Margaret Duncan, Ed.D.
The Histocrats
support the idea of incorporating board-games into your personal life as well
as in the classroom. As part of our
gaming initiative, we recommend history centric games that are fun to play each
week to all of our followers. The
selected games receive our “Game of the Week” distinction. The following are some of our favorite games
we played in 2015.
Shadows Over Camelot, Days of Wonder
A lone swallow flies
across the grey skies of Cornwall. The forces of evil are gathering around
Camelot. The Black Knight was sighted atop a desolate ridge; a scheming Morgan
plots her revenge; the Saxon troops are on the move; and acres of timber are
being felled for the siege engines. And yet Lancelot has all but vanished, with
Excalibur yet to be recovered. Will you, young squire, come forth and pledge
allegiance to your fellow Knights of the Round Table. Players work together to defeat the forces
closing in on Camelot. But beware, players must be vigilant for a traitor in
their midst who is biding his time-secretly sowing the seeds of havoc and
destruction. Yet too much suspicion will undermine the knight's efforts to
protect the kingdom. These are dangerous times indeed.
Jaipur, Asmodee
My kingdom for a
camel! Work hard, earn more than your opponent and become the official merchant
of the Maharaja. At the beginning of the game, three camel cards and two
merchandise cards are on the table between the players, who already have five
cards in hand. On your turn, you can take some cards or sell some. Each time
that you take cards, you can take one or more, however if you decide to take
more, then you will have to trade in the same amount of cards from your hand
that you take. If you decide to take all camel cards, then they can be used
later to trade. You can sell all the merchandise that you want, as long as they
are all the same type. For each sale, you will receive tokens with various
point values. At the end of the game, the player who has the majority of the
camels also wins points.
Machi Koro, IDW Games
You've just been
elected Mayor. Congrats! Unfortunately
the citizens have some pretty big demands: jobs, a theme park, a couple of
cheese factories and maybe even a radio tower.
A tough proposition since the city currently consists of a wheat field,
a bakery and a single die. Armed only with your trusty die and a dream, you
must grow Machi Koro into the largest city in the region.
7 Wonders, Asmodee
In 7 Wonders, you
lead an ancient civilization as it rises from its barbaric roots to become a
world power. Lead your troops to a military victory or create a nation of
artisans and philosophers. Establish a powerful merchant state or master the
mysteries of science and technology. Build an architectural wonder that will
fascinate for eons to come, and rule the most powerful civilization on Earth!
Metro, Rio Grande Games
The eve of the 1900
World’s Fair is approaching, and excavations are taking place across the city.
Bizarre-looking scaffolds arise everywhere. Tunnels are built in the streets to
later be covered with earth. Take part in the construction of the Paris Metro.
Each player works to complete a set of lines across Paris and scores points
based on the length of the lines, after all, we want to show the tourists as
much of our fine city as possible. When you complete your lines, you tally your
points and the player with the most points when the fair opens, is the winner.
Vikings Board Game, Z-Man Games
You are the leader
of a clan of Vikings. You are tasked with the scouting and settling of
undiscovered islands off the coast of the mainland. To expand your territories
and clan, you will need to master the game's clever rotating wheel. The price
for islands and Vikings will change as players acquire more of them. The game
will be tense until the end and you will need to protect your islands against
the ships that sail on the horizon. Are you the leader whose clan will rise
above the others?
Lady Alice, Hurrican / Asmodee
Lady Alice is a game
of intrigue, flair, bluffing, and mischief.
The players are the Baker Street Kids, children under the tutelage of
Sherlock Holmes who must deduce the culprit behind the kidnapping of Henry
Morton Stanley as well as the time and place the kidnapping occurred and which
object was stolen at the same time.
Lanterns, Renegade Game Studios
The harvest is in,
and now it's time to celebrate! Lanterns: The Harvest Festival is a tile--
placement game set in imperial China. Place tiles, adorn the palace lake, and
dedicate lanterns in this fast paced board game. Players act as artisans
decorating the palace lake with floating lanterns. The artisan who earns the
most honor before the festival arrives wins the game.
Moonshot The Game, Limited Edition
This board game is
part of a Limited First Edition series, dedicated to the crews of Apollo I and
the Challenger Space Shuttle, with a gold-colored sticker on the front of the
box signed by game designer Van Overbay. "Moonshot The Game" puts you
in command as you develop rockets, launch spacecraft, avoid hazards and earn
mission patches in a thrilling race to be the first player to land on the
Moon. The game combines the strategy of
a classic board game with the tactics of a collectible card game.
Axis & Allies 1942, Wizards of the Coast
It’s spring 1942,
and the world is at war. Five major powers struggle for supremacy: Germany and
Japan are aligned against the great alliance of the United Kingdom, the Soviet
Union, and the United States. Controlling one of the Axis or Allied powers,
players will command both their country’s military forces and its war-time
economy, with the chance to plan attacks, marshal forces into embattled
territories, and resolve conflicts. Victory will go to the side that conquers
its opponents on the field of battle and liberates or occupies the greatest
cities of the world. Change the course of history in a few short hours!
*All product
descriptions are from the manufacturer
Black Gold, Fantasy Flight Games
